The Everton midfielder has been enjoying a sustained run in the team with his new club, but a knock he shipped in last Saturday's FA Cup win over Blackpool has halted that progress.

It's an unfortunate time for the Derryman to be struck down given that he is behind Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews in the Irish midifeld pecking order and needs to fend off competition from Keith Fahey, James McCarthy and Paul Green to be sure of his place on the plane to Poland for the Euro 2012 finals.

He will now have to wait until the summer to show Giovanni Trapattoni the difference that regular football has brought to his game.

The 24-year-old had been set to accompany club team-mates Seamus Coleman and Shane Duffy to Dublin before sustaining the injury which is still being assessed.

Gibson's injury is a worry for Everton boss David Moyes, although the club do not have a game until March 3 when they travel to QPR as their scheduled clash against Liverpool this weekend will be played at a later date due to the Reds' participation in the Carling Cup final against Cardiff.

Gibson has played seven games for Everton since joining the club from Manchester United and he is yet to taste defeat with the Toffees.

Meanwhile, Alex McLeish has confirmed he would like to bring Robbie Keane back to the Aston Villa at some stage in the future. The LA Galaxy star will make his final loan appearance for Villa against Wigan tomorrow.